“You ended up with a lesbian wife?”
“Precisely,” I exclaimed, causing an older lady who was browsing to jump.
“We’re not going to set you up with a woman, you idiot. There’s this new guy at the office, and he is adorable. You’d be drooling if you saw him.”
“One thing: I don’t drool. Second thing: no thank you,” I said.
“But you haven’t seen him. You’d change your mind very quickly if you saw him.”
I stared blankly at her for a few seconds before she moved on.
“How about my next-door neighbor? He is a hottie. And he’s new in town. Sort of. Plus he’s Filipino. Not some awkward white boy.”
“Please, Alina. Have mercy. Stop it,” I moaned.
The truth was, I didn’t know why I was complaining. Setups and blind dates were perfectly normal. I should be jumping at the opportunity to meet guys. But there was something… something I couldn’t quite explain that made me resist. As if I’d be doing something wrong. Which made no sense, because if we were counting the things that I was doing, I had a few under my belt already. Especially if you asked my family.
But that wasn’t it. It wasn’t fear of sinning or fear of being judged. I was just…
I guessed I was happy with my life as it was. Why upset the balance when I’d found one that worked. Yeah, maybe it wasn’t ideal that I was forty-one, and my only friends were my ex and her girlfriend, or that I’d rather be chasing cats around, or that I read far more than was considered normal—if such athing existed—but what I had was enough. Why bother pursuing something that might end up in hurt and regret?
“Oh no. Did you tell him about George?” Zay said, emerging from the back and putting her hands around her girlfriend’s waist.
“Yup. And Remi,” Alina added.
“Oh, Remi’s so cute,” Zay cooed. “You need to meet Remi.”
“Girls—and I say this with as much love as I possibly can—shut the fuck up.”
The older lady I’d startled earlier gave me a side glance and chuckled to herself.
“Will not, thank you very much,” Zay said, and Missy chose that moment to climb on the counter behind me, scaring the crap out of me. “That’s it,” my ex exclaimed.
I looked at her in confusion and picked up Missy.
“That’s what?”
Alina glanced from her girlfriend to something behind me and her eyes lit up too.
“Ooh yes. Good idea, Zay.”
“I know, right?” Zay giggled.
“Will someone clue me in what the heck you’re talking about?”
Zainab walked around and grabbed a poster off the back counter and showed it to me.
“I was about to hang it up. But you should go. Have a little fun.”
I ignored her and read what was on the poster.
The Fire Department and Duke’s Sanctuary invite you to the Holiday Charity Bachelor Auction.
“Forget it,” I said.
“Why not? It’ll be fun.”
I stared at my best friend and bit my tongue.
